Historic Jamestowne

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Jamestown National Historic Site
View of James Town Island, Captain John Smith Statue.jpg
A statue of John Smith commemorating the site of the first permanent English settlement in America.
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Location James City County, Virginia, United States
Nearest city Jamestown, Virginia
Coordinates 37°12′35″N76°46′44″W / 37.20972°N 76.77889°W / 37.20972; -76.77889 Coordinates: 37°12′35″N76°46′44″W / 37.20972°N 76.77889°W / 37.20972; -76.77889
Area20.63 acres (8.35 ha)
EstablishedMay 13, 1607
Governing body Preservation Virginia
(in partnership with NPS)
Website Historic Jamestowne
Jamestown National Historic Site
LocationJamestown Island, Jamestown, Virginia
Area20.6 acres (8.3 ha)
Built1607 (1607)
NRHP reference No. 66000840 [1]
VLR No.047-0009
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated VLROctober 18, 1983 [2]

Historic Jamestown is the cultural heritage site that was the location of the 1607 James Fort and the later 17th-century city of Jamestown in America. It is located on Jamestown Island, on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia and operated as a partnership between Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) and the U.S. National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park.

Contents

The site was designated Jamestown National Historic Site on December 18, 1940 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It was also designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in 2007 by the American Chemical Society. [3] It is adjacent and complementary with Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum built run by the Commonwealth of Virginia to interpret the early colony.

History

Jamestown, first established in the Virginia Colony at Jamestown, on May 13, 1607, was the site of the first permanent English [4] settlement in North America. Upon arrival, the hundred-some colonists set about constructing a fort to protect themselves from the nearby Virginia Indian tribes and from a potential attack from the Spanish settlements in Florida.

Between 1609 and 1610, lack of local food and replenishment of supplies from England, and inability to cope with disease led to the "starving time", which only 60 colonists survived. The colony was resupplied with new colonists, and over the next several decades became the center of government for the English colonists, and a port town for additional arrivals from England to the new land, with about 500 people living in or around it at its peak.

Jamestown was the capital of the Virginia Colony, and saw Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, which led to the burning down of most of Jamestown, but the town was rebuilt. After an accidental second burning in 1698, the capital was relocated to higher ground at Middle Plantation in 1699, which was then renamed Williamsburg. Soon, Jamestown began a period of rapid decline. By the 1750s, the land was owned and heavily cultivated primarily by the Travis and Ambler families.

Due to its location on the James River, the island saw some action during the American Revolutionary War (1776-1781) when the area was used as a military post where American and British prisoners of war were exchanged.

In the 19th century, Jamestown Island reverted to little-used farmland, and in 1862 became the site of Doller's Point Battery, a Confederate earthworks during the American Civil War intended to protect Richmond against Union gunboats. Swann's Point Battery was a Union Army battery located Swann's Point above the mouth of Gray's Creek on the James River, opposite Jamestown Island from 1862-1865. The Ambler Farm was burned by escaped slaves, who found the desolate island to be a haven. The area then reverted to farmland until preservation efforts began at the end of the 19th century.

Mission

According to their website, Jamestown Rediscovery is "committed to supporting preservation, education, and the archaeological investigation of Historic Jamestowne, the original site of the first permanent English settlement in America." [5]

Preservation

Late in the 19th century, Jamestown became the focus of new historical interest, and by 1893, the site of Jamestown was owned by Mr and Mrs Edward Barney, who donated 22.5 acres (9.1 ha) of land on Jamestown Island, including the 17th-century tower of the Jamestown Church, to Preservation Virginia historic preservation. By this time, erosion from the river had eaten away the island's western shore; visitors began to conclude that the site of James Fort lay completely underwater. With federal assistance, a sea wall was constructed in 1900 to stabilize and protect the area from further erosion. In 1907, with the site's 300th anniversary in mind, the present Jamestown Church was rebuilt by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, re-using the surviving 17th century tower.

In 1932, George C. Gregory discovered the foundation of the first capitol building, circa 1646, at Jamestown. [6] In 1934, Colonial National Historical Park obtained the remaining 1,500-acre (610 ha) of the island and partnered with Preservation Virginia to preserve the area and present it to visitors in an educational manner. The site was designated Jamestown National Historic Site on December 18, 1940, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The National Park Service maintains the remaining portions of the island with recreations of building foundations of the post-1610 Jamestown port town. In 1957, with the site's 350th anniversary in mind, New Discoveries at Jamestown was published.

In 1994, with the quadricentennial year approaching, Preservation Virginia agreed to fund a 10-year archaeological project called Jamestown Rediscovery to search for any remains of James Fort, led by William Kelso. By 1996, they had found James Fort, which had only lost a western bulwark to river erosion.

In 2006, many preparations were underway for the Jamestown 2007 event celebrating the 400th anniversary of the settlement. The site was visited by several dignitaries, including President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Queen Elizabeth II visited to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing on May 4, 2007 – she had previously visited the park in October 1957. As noted by Queen Elizabeth during her state visit to the U.S. in 2007, Jamestowne was the beginning, not just of America, but of the British Empire.

Significant structures

The Historic Jamestowne area of Jamestown Island includes several important structures, both historical and modern.

Old Town

This area includes the ruins within the original 1607 James Fort, the restored Jamestown Church, and the ruins of the Statehouse.

New Town

Situated to the east of the Old Towne area, this area includes the Ambler Mansion ruins, the rowhouse, and Governor Harvey House.

Monuments

The tall Tercentenary Monument, which resembles the Washington Monument in Washington, was placed on Jamestown Island by the United States government in 1907 for the 300th anniversary of the settlement. It cost $50,000 at the time, stands 103 feet (c.31 meters) tall, and is made of New Hampshire granite. [7] The north face inscription reads: Jamestown - The first permanent colony of the English people. The birthplace of Virginia and of the United States - May 13, 1607. [8]

The General Assembly Monument was unveiled on July 31, 1907, as a gift of the Norfolk branch of the APVA. Located near the church, it is a small obelisk designed to commemorate the first meeting of Virginia's General Assembly in July 1619. [9]

A horse trough, a gift from the Society of Colonial Wars in 1907, was installed in a place now just outside the Yeardley House offices of the Jamestown Rediscovery project. It was designed by architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle. [10]

The APVA Gates, a brick and iron entrance to the land owned by the APVA, was presented on May 9, 1909 by The Colonial Dames of America. They were relocated to its present location northeast of the Memorial Church in 1957. [11] [10]

The bronze John Smith statue was unveiled on May 13, 1909, and was a gift from Joseph Bryan and his wife, Isobel, early supporters of the APVA. William Couper, from Norfolk, designed the statue. It has a granite base, and measures 20 feet tall. The inscription on the base reads: John Smith, Governor of Virginia, 1608 and features Smith's adopted coat of arms and motto, vincere est vivere ("to live is to conquer"). [10]

The bronze Pocahontas statue was unveiled in June 1922, and stood south of the church, where it could "welcome" visitors coming from off the ferry. It was moved to the low rock base near the APVA entrance gate for the 350th celebration in 1957. In 2014 it was moved slightly to the west to make way for archaeological work. [10]

Also in June 1922, The Colonial Dames of America erected the Hunt Shrine (dedicated to Robert Hunt), the first Anglican minister of the colony. It was designed by Ralph Adams Cram. The shrine frames a bas-relief depicting the 1607 service. It was first set with its back to the James River, but in 1960 it was rotated to face the river from the northern earthwork of the Civil War's Fort Pocahontas. [10] Its inscription, taken from John Smith, reads

Our factions were oft qualified, and our wants and greater extremities so comforted that they seemed easie in comparison of what we endured after his memorable death. ...

The wooden cross that stands near the entrance to the Archaearium museum was erected by the APVA in 1957 to honor the settlers who died in first years of the settlement. The inscription reads: To the Glory of God and in grateful memory of those early settlers, the founders of this nation who died at Jamestown during the first perilous years of the colony. Their bodies lie along the ridge beyond this cross, in the earliest known burial ground of the English in America. [10]

Voorhees Archaearium

Officially named the Nathalie P. and Alan M. Voorhees Archaearium, or simply the Voorhees Archaearium is a museum with excavated artifacts and exhibits about Jamestowne. The building is located over the excavated remains of the last Statehouse in Jamestown, which visitors can see. The museum onsite opened just prior to the 400th anniversary and displays objects that belonged to Jamestown colonists 400 years ago, unearthed from the long lost James Fort site in a 7,500 sq ft gallery space integrating both life and death experiences of the colonists and the landscape they shaped.

Additional archaeological materials from James Fort were featured in the Smithsonian Institution's limited exhibition, Written In Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake from February 7, 2009 to January 6, 2013 at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Jamestown Settlement Living history museum in Jamestown, Virginia

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Popham Colony

The Popham Colony—also known as the Sagadahoc Colony—was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America. It was established in 1607 by the proprietary Virginia Company of Plymouth and was located in the present-day town of Phippsburg, Maine, near the mouth of the Kennebec River. It was founded a few months after its more successful rival, the colony at Jamestown. That colony was established on May 4, 1607 by the Virginia Company of London in present-day James City County, Virginia.

Jamestown Island

Jamestown Island is a 1,561-acre island in the James River in Virginia, part of James City County. It is located off Glasshouse Point, to which it is connected via a causeway to the Colonial Parkway. Much of the island is wetland, including both swamp and marsh.

Preservation Virginia

Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus on statewide Preservation and in 2009 it shortened its name to Preservation Virginia. Preservation Virginia owns historic sites across Virginia including Historic Jamestowne, located at Jamestown, Virginia, site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, and the Cape Henry Light, one of the first public works projects of the United States of America.

Historic Triangle

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Jamestown 2007

Jamestown 2007 is the name of the organization which planned the events commemorating the 400th anniversary (quadricentennial) of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, the first permanent English-speaking settlement in what is now the United States of America. America's 400th Anniversary was an 18-month-long commemoration including 10 Signature Events, hundreds of community programs and dozens of partner and programs and events. Activities took place throughout Virginia, in major cities along the East Coast, and in the United Kingdom.

Varina Farms United States historic place

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Anglo-Powhatan Wars

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Starving Time at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia was a period of starvation during the winter of 1609–1610. There were about 500 Jamestown residents at the beginning of the winter. However, there were only 61 people still alive when the spring arrived.

Jamestown Rediscovery

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William Capps

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Jamestown Church

Jamestown Church, constructed in brick from 1639 onward, in Jamestown in the Mid-Atlantic state of Virginia, is one of the oldest surviving building remnants built by Europeans in the original thirteen colonies and in the United States overall. It is now part of Historic Jamestowne, and is owned by Preservation Virginia. There have been several sites and stages in the church's history, and its later tower is now the last surviving above-ground structure from the days when Jamestown was the capital of Virginia. The current structure, active as part of the Anglican church, is still in use today. The ruins are currently being researched by members of the Jamestown Rediscovery project.

History of Jamestown, Virginia (1607–1699)

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William Spence was an early Virginia colonist on Jamestown Island. He was member of the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Spence became an ensign in the local militia and is thus sometimes identified as Ensign William Spence or Ensign Spence. He was an early farmer on Jamestown Island, a tobacco taster and landowner at Archer's Hope. He, his wife and his young daughter, Sara, or Sarah, avoided the Indian massacre of 1622, but Spence and his wife were reported "lost" at the census of February 16, 1624.

William Spencer was an early Virginia colonist on Jamestown Island, who was an Ancient planter and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia for Mulberry Island in 1632/33.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "National Historic Chemical Landmarks - American Chemical Society". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  4. ↑ "A Short History of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  5. ↑ "Historic Jamestowne". historicjamestowne.org. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  6. ↑ "NPS Publications: Popular Study Series". Nps.gov. October 20, 2001. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Monuments | Historic Jamestowne". historicjamestowne.org. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  8. ↑ "Jamestown Tercentenary Monument Historical Marker" . Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  9. ↑ "Monument Listing Names of the Members of the First General Assembly, 1619 · Document Bank of Virginia". edu.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Monuments | Historic Jamestowne". historicjamestowne.org. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  11. ↑ "Jamestown Historical Marker" . Retrieved 2018-01-03.
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